The Road of the Giants is the construction of the ancient giants. Northern Ireland. Giants trail in ireland
Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland - unique a natural phenomenon: interconnected basalt hexagonal columns create amazing landscapes, reminiscent of a natural pavement. The trail is the result of activity ancient volcano; the ledges were formed during the cooling of the lava flow. There is another version of the appearance of a bizarre trail: the road was built by the hero of Celtic myths Finn McKumal.
The pavement of giants really could serve as a road: the columns different heights(from 6 to 12 meters) seem like a ladder, and the cracks are the result of a sloppy layout of the nature trail.
In 1986, the Bridge of the Giants was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
To visit the Path of the Giants, you should choose comfortable clothes and shoes, best of all - with rubber soles.
It is better to plan a trip to the Bridge of Giants for the period from late spring to autumn. There are no tours of the Giant's Path during winter. Be careful: the weather in the north of Ireland is quite changeable. At strong wind and in the rain it can be dangerous to approach the cliff.
Tourist office where you can get detailed information about the Causeway of the Giants and buy souvenirs, located at 44 Causeway Road. When buying a ticket, tourists receive an audio guide in Russian (English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Japanese and Mandarin are also available).
How to get there
The bridge of the giants is located in the north-east of Northern Ireland, 100 km from Belfast. bus service connects the Giant's Trail and Belfast: tourist buses run (mainly in summer time), can also be reached by bus 252, which runs along the picturesque coast of Antrim.
From the end of spring to the beginning of autumn, you can get to the Bridge of the Giants by tourist buses from Bushmills, as well as from another attraction of Northern Ireland -. In summer, minibuses also run from the Tourist Office.
From Belfast and Londonderry you can also take the Translink trains (www.translink.co.uk). Closest to the Bridge of the Giants railway stations- Portrush (Portrush) and Coleraine (Coleraine), from where regular buses follow to the coast.
Steam Railway connects Bushmills and Giant's Trail; the station is located 200 meters from the main entrance to the natural park.
Travel time from Belfast by car is about an hour and a half. Follow the M2 to the junction with the A26. Turning right, follow until the turn onto the M2. After passing the town of Ballymena, continue on the A26 to the town of Ballymoney. Turning right, follow Ballybogy Road to the junction with Priestland Road. Turn right again and continue to Causeway Road.
Location
The Causeway of the Giants is located in County Antrim at .
The path of the giants - that's what it's called unusual place on the shore Atlantic Ocean in Northern Ireland. There are 40 thousand huge basalt columns tightly pressed against each other. Their surface seems to form a giant path leading from the ocean to a large volcano.
It is thanks to the eruption of this volcano several tens of millions of years ago, according to scientists, that an unusual natural structure appeared. The unusual shape of the columns is explained by the chemical composition of the lava, which contracted during solidification. Hexagonal stone pillars- the strangest structure generated by solidified lava. For a long time, scientists puzzled over why the rock acquired the appearance of polygonal pillars. At present, the hypothesis is considered proven that this type of them is associated with an extremely slow cooling of the molten substance, and its gradual compression. Similar to this process, scientists call the drying of wet mud or clay, which also cracks and forms a bizarre pattern.
Most columns have six, seven or eight faces, and only one has three. Their average height is about 6 meters. The pillars are so tightly pressed against each other that it is difficult to even stick a thin knife between them. total area an unusual object, which is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Ireland, is 4.5 thousand square meters (300 by 500).
However, the name "Path of the Giants" tells us that the history of its appearance is also described in local legends. According to them, the road in ancient times, when the Earth was inhabited by huge people, was built Irish giant Finn McKumal from his house on the coast to the fortress of his enemy, located on Hebrides. When he came to him, he found that the opponent was much larger and, therefore, stronger than him. Finn had to flee. Returning home, he asked his wife to swaddle him like a baby and lay him on the shore. Seeing such a "giant child", his enemy thought that it was better not to meet with the father of such a huge baby, and returned home, destroying the stone road across the ocean.
Whatever the origin of the Giants' Trail, it has long been considered one of the most picturesque in the world. It inspired more than one writer and artist to create romantic works. In 1986, the Giants' Trail was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, and a year later it became national reserve Northern Ireland.
Giant's Causeway is one of the incredible wonders of nature and the most popular tourist place in the United Kingdom. Its territory consists of 40,000 interconnected hexagonal basalt columns, this place is located in the north-east of Northern Ireland, 3 km from the city of Bushmills.
Every year, almost half a million people come here to see the amazing rock deposits. Steep basalt slopes windingly go far into the sea from the height of the columns in a three-story house, forming something like a bridge for giants. Although the name itself implies that this place is associated with unusual story, a legend.
The scientific point of view is as follows. Such rock formations arose 50-60 million years ago during volcanic eruptions. Basalt rocks covered large area in a liquid state, then during solidification and surface tension, they turned into stone hexagons. Now these basalt formations in tens of thousands of columns amaze tourists from all over the world. Almost every travel program in Ireland includes a trip to the Giant Causeway.
In 1986, the Giant's Causeway was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, and a year later it became a national park in Northern Ireland.
Unique natural wonder is an impressive string of hexagonal columns of various sizes. This is the result of an ancient volcanic eruption, when tons of hot lava erupted to the surface. In the conditions of the cold Irish climate, the lava not only froze, but also quickly cooled down, and under the influence low temperatures began to "squeeze". As a result, its layer cracked, forming hexagonal columns. The tallest column reaches a height of 12 meters. In total, scientists counted about forty thousand giants, who formed a path that goes straight into the sea.
Locals are sure that ancient people once walked along this road, who were giants, hence the size of the columns.
Path of the Giants legend
Locals believe that giants walked on these massive columns in ancient times; and they were as huge as those strange rock formations. Supposedly, there once lived two giants in the neighborhood - one was good, Finn McCool from Ireland, and the other was a bad bully, Benandonner from Scotland. And Finn decided to save his homeland from the one-eyed monster and decided to fight him.
On the desert and harsh shores Ireland many hundreds of years ago, a local "super-hero" named Finn McKumal built a bridge across the sea, driving huge columns into its bottom. He did this in order to defeat the one-eyed monster Goll, who terrified local population. But beat in cold water uncomfortable and unpleasant, and dangerous to health, which is why Finn built the bridge.
So Finn built a road across the North Channel where two giants could meet for a duel. When Finn saw the approaching enemy, he was horrified - Benandonner was much larger than he had imagined. Finn ran home and asked his wife to come up with something and hide him. Then the cunning wife swaddled her husband, as small child and put him to bed. When Benandonner came and asked if Finn was at home, she replied that he had left and only a newborn baby was at home. Benandonner looked at the child and was afraid - if the child is so big, how big can his father be! However, he still decided to wait for Finn.
In anticipation of her husband, the woman treated Goll with cakes, previously stuffed with iron plates, and when he broke his teeth on her, she defiantly fed the woke husband with a cake, naturally, without a piece of iron. Terrified, what kind of dad is there if his son eats such treats, Goll fled in horror, having previously destroyed the bridge so that Finn would not think of catching up with him. This is how the Giant's Trail or the Giant's Trail appeared in Ireland.
Trail of the Giants photo
Incidentally, among stone giants there are not only hexagonal, but also five, and even heptagonal. Some columns are very small, they are not even columns, but stone tiles.
Currently, the Giants' Trail is listed by UNESCO and thousands of curious people come to walk along it. Inhospitable, at first glance, the cold coast, rocks and the trail itself create an amazing picture. natural world untouched by the omnipresent hand of man.
The road of giants stretches along the coast for 275 m, in addition, it enters the sea for 150 m. Geologists determine the age of the columns at 60 million years! Despite this, they are in excellent condition, practically not destroyed and still delight the tourists who come here with the splendor.
Here you can see picturesque caves, some can be viewed from land, others - only from the sea, visit ruined castles and lovely sandy coves. The 13th-century Dunluce Castle stands on a cliff connected to the mainland by a bridge over a precipice at the bottom of which the sea laps. Dunseverick Castle is an earlier fortification to the east of the Giant's Road, and to the east stands the 16th-century castle of Keenbane Castle. In the summer, you can get here every day by cruise boat to Rathlin Island, five miles from Billy Castle. The most interesting place here is Bryus's Cave, where in 1306 Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, who was watching the spider weaving its web again, had the idea to win back his kingdom and become the ruler again.
The legend of the origin of stone prisms
According to an ancient Celtic legend, stone prisms on the coast of the Irish coast were built by fairy tale hero, the giant Finn McKummal. Once he wanted to measure his strength with the one-eyed Gol, who lives on the island of Staffa, located on the other side of the strait. To his regret, Finn McKummal was very afraid of water, and of a suitable means on which one could swim across body of water, he couldn't find it. Then he decided to build a road across the sea straight to the island of Staffa. He paved it for 7 days, dragging faceted columns, planting them deep into the ground and pressing tightly against each other so that they would not sag under the weight of his body.
Upon completion of the construction, the giant was very tired and decided to rest before a difficult battle. At this time, the Cyclops noticed a stone bridge, coming from nowhere in the middle of the sea. He sensed the danger and decided to attack his enemy first. After crossing the bridge, he found a dwelling and began to break on the door. Not good enough for Finn McKummal, if not for the resourcefulness of his wife. She wrapped her husband in a sheet and only after that launched the Cyclops into the house. To the angry cries, the woman calmly replied that the owner was not at home, and their son was sleeping in the cradle. Gol was seriously frightened when he saw the size of the child and imagined the growth of his father. He fled in horror from the island, destroying the built bridge behind him so that the enemy would not overtake him.
ancient building
Some researchers believe that the Irish columns are the creation of ancient people. After all, such a building is not the only one of its kind. It can be compared to Hadrian's Wall, a magnificent Roman monument built in the 2nd century AD. In Great Britain. It was 130 km long, 5 km high and 6 km wide. Similar to both of these buildings and the famous Stonehenge in England, which was made of huge boulders 5,000 years ago.
At the bottom Pacific Ocean scientists have discovered an entire city that has disappeared, built mainly from hewn hexagonal slabs that look very much like Irish columns.
From the foregoing, it follows that technically, people of antiquity had the opportunity to build stone structures of impressive size.
Scientists' opinion
Scientists explain Irish miracle very simple. Millions of years ago, the magma formed after volcanic eruptions began to solidify. When such processes take place in sea coast, then from above the magma layer breaks up into geometrically regular hexagons. The crystallization process then deepens inward and gives rise to faceted basalt columns. Here is a common explanation for one of the most, it would seem, mysterious structures our century.
Some time ago, the "Giant's Road" was recognized as the fourth wonder of the world in the UK (according to the Times newspaper). These ancient formations are protected by UNESCO and belong to the National Fund.
Facts about the Road of the Giants
- Time of formation: The Giants' Road appeared about 60 million years ago.
- Number of basalt columns: About 40,000.
- Height and dimensions: The highest -12m, the widest -25m thick.
- Attractions: Chimneys, Giant's Organ. Giant's Flute, Giant's Boot, and Shepherd's Ladder.
The coast of Northern Ireland (Great Britain), 3 km from the city of Bushmills, is covered with 40 thousand basalt (rarely andesite) columns. This place is called "Giant's Road" (Giant's Path). The road, as well as the Causeway Coast on which it is located, have been declared a site world heritage UNESCO in 1986. Most of the columns are hexagonal, although some have four, five, seven or eight corners. The tallest column is about 12 meters high.
According to a scientific hypothesis, these bizarre stone pillars were formed 50-60 million years ago, when, during a volcanic eruption, hot and very liquid basalt lava broke through to the surface right in the bed of the then existing river. The outer layers of lava quickly cooled down under the influence of water and formed stone columns, as if driven into the ground (this effect was achieved due to the mass of lava that pressed through the river bottom under it).
Path to the Giant's Trail:
In one of the Celtic myths of the III century AD. it is said that the warrior hero Finn McCumal, who lived in Ireland, was constantly insulted by his neighbor, a one-eyed giant named Goll, who lived across the strait from him (in Scotland). One day, Finn McKumal decided to teach the giant a lesson, and since he could not swim across the bay, he set about building a bridge. For seven days and nights he dragged huge stone rods into the sea, and finally the bridge was ready. Tired after overwork, Finn decided to get a good night's sleep before the upcoming battle. At this time, the Scottish giant, seeing the bridge, ran across it to Ireland and began to knock on the door to the warrior. The warrior's wife was frightened and came up with a trick: she swaddled him like a baby. In addition, she treated Goll with cakes, inside of which she baked flat iron pans, and when the giant began to break his teeth about them, she gave the second cake, a simple one, to the “baby” Finn, who calmly ate it. Having imagined what a giant the father of this rather big “baby” would be, Goll fled in horror, destroying the bridge along the way. Therefore, only the beginning of the bridge, extending into the sea, has survived to this day:
